BMW Concept 8-Series: Everything You Need To Know About The Plush Coupe

The BMW 8-series lives on! This swooping new two-door coupe concept has been revealed at the 2017 Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy. It previews what the new 8-series coupe will look like when the proper production model is shown off next year.

The BMW Concept 8-series, to give it its proper title, is a design study with the intended purpose of putting BMW in the right direction in the luxury car market. The brand wants to make new waves in the plush, wafty end of the industry and says the new 8-series is ‘part of the biggest model offensive in the brand’s history.’

BMW also says that the Concept 8-series not only previews the new luxo-coupe, but a whole new design language for the brand too.

It’s low-slung, long and is beset with creases and curves. It still looks like a BMW, thanks to the slightly gopping kidney grille, while those rear lights are reminiscent of other BMW concepts like the 3.0 CSL Hommage and Gran Lusso cars — both previous debutants from Villa d’Este events. The tail end is finished off by quite a hefty whale tail wing and trapezoidal exhausts.

Inside, the Concept 8-series ‘focuses on the essential: the task of driving.’ The interior encloses the driver as if they’re in a proper sports car. The slim sports seats are made from carbon fibre and trimmed in leather, the steering wheel’s spokes are made from polished aluminum and the gear paddles have an anodized red finish to ‘bring the race track to mind’… apparently. BMW’s iDrive controller remains, though this time it’s made from smoky Swarovski glass.

BMW’s honcho-in-chief, Harald Krüger calls the new 8-series ‘the next model in the expansion of our luxury-car offering and will raise the benchmark for coupes in the segment.’

We’ll see the production model in 2018, which will take on cars like the Mercedes S-Class Coupe and all-new Bentley Continental GT. Few production specs are known, but it will be rear-wheel drive.

This post was written by Jake Groves. It originally appeared on our sister site, Car Magazine.